A 24-year ban on threatened sea otters in the waters off Southern California could soon be lifted.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal, announced Wednesday, also would end a program that moved 140 otters from the Central Coast to San Nicolas Island about 75 miles southwest of Los Angeles between 1987 and 1990.

A hearing on the proposal will be held Oct. 6 in Santa Cruz.

The news was applauded by otter advocates, including groups that took the federal agency to court in 2009 over the program. The agency's proposal arose out of a settlement with the group.

"This is exactly what we hoped for when we filed the suit," said Steve Shimek, founder of The Otter Project in Monterey. "People are excited when they see otters in the Santa Barbara Channel. They're excited when they go to the beach in Santa Barbara and see otters. But it's still rare. We want people to experience otters every day like we do here in the Monterey Bay."

Sea otters once ranged from Oregon to Baja, Mexico, but in the 18th and 19th centuries they were hunted to near extinction for the fur trade. Today, fewer than 3,000 remain in a limited range between San Mateo and Santa Barbara counties.

Fish and Wildlife launched what was known as the "translocation program" in 1987 with the idea of creating a "backup" population on a remote island in case a natural or human-caused catastrophe such as an oil spill devastated the species.

In a compromise aimed at appeasing opponents of the move, the federal agency also put in place a "no-otter" zone south of Point Conception in Santa Barbara County except for the vicinity of San Nicolas Island.

But the San Nicolas population failed to thrive. Some otters returned to their home range. Others died. And the ban elsewhere meant otters were prohibited from returning naturally to an historic range. Those that did were captured and shipped back to the Central Coast, where they often came into conflict with the local population and washed up dead on area beaches, Shimek said.

"We've learned a lot and as a result our recovery strategy has fundamentally changed," said agency spokeswoman Lois Grunwald. "We believe this will improve the chances for a sea otter recovery."

The agency said removing the prohibition means otters in Southern California waters would be subject to the same federal regulations that protect the species elsewhere, That would mean new rules for southern fisheries, and other commercial interests, as well as the U.S. Department of Defense, which would have to take otters into account when planning ventures.

Pete Halmay of San Diego has made his living as a commercial sea urchin diver for 41 years, and he heads up the California Sea Urchin Subcommittee on Sea Otters. He said he hadn't read the report so he'd reserve comments for the public process. But he doubted lifting the ban would have much affect on sea otters.

"Quite frankly in that management zone the idea was that Fish and Wildlife would manage it free of sea otters, and of course they haven't done that," Halmay said. "On the ground absolutely nothing will change except for restrictions on fisheries."

Jim Curland of Defenders of Wildlife thinks otherwise. Giving otters a chance to recover doesn't just help the species but the entire ecosystem, he said. As a predator, otters help keep grazers like sea urchins in check, protecting kelp forests.

"This is a population that's had more downs than ups," Curland said of otters. "They are struggling along and we need to allow them to naturally expand their range. In the long run that's what is going to expand the population."

IF YOU GO

CALIFORNIA SEA OTTERS

WHAT: Public hearing on a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to lift a ban on sea otters off Southern California coast